Christmas Play Awarded “Finalist” Medal from Indie Awards

As I sat down at my desk a few days ago I noticed a yellow bubble envelope. One of my children had placed it there for me to find. To my surprise when I actually looked at it, I discovered it was from New Generation Indie Awards and inside was a nice-sized medal awarded for Holy Stable™ Celebrate the Miracle…Story, Music, Nativity Play.

Time to write a media release and I can’t think of a better time to begin planning for your Christmas play celebration…

Even if you want nothing more than a Christmas skit, why wait until the holiday season leaves you no time to think about costumes? Browse around in your local fabric store to get yourself in the creative mood. I especially love upholstery fabrics for wise men costumes. So you don’t sew? That shouldn’t keep you from celebrating your Christian Christmas play. Use simple bathrobes if you like.

If you’re looking for Christmas play or Christmas skit ideas for your family or for a church Christmas play, or if you are just a lover of Christmas poems, you won’t be disappointed in Holy Stable™ Celebrate the Miracle, Story, Music, Nativity Play. It includes a free Christmas play available as a download and is unique in the world of Christmas play scripts. It’s both a Christmas musical and a Christmas play for kids and all ages.

Would you like to see that media release? I’m excited to share it with you…Click Here.

The Holy Stable™ “Book”

Most of us are still calling Celebrate the Miracle a “book.” And some of you are wondering if it is available. The first layer was a book and always will be. The story shares a glimpse of perfect love, with Joseph singing a tender lullaby to Mary as she gives birth to Baby Jesus. And there are now other wonderful layers of music and Nativity experience added to the “book,” which will soon be available.

When it was initially suggested by a couple of my favorite mentors, Richard Paul Evans and Robert G. Allen, that we find a way to add value to our projects and I looked closely at mine—the first thing I wanted from my book, was to hear and experience this special lullaby that Joseph was singing to Mary. There was a little bit of romantic bias here on my part, because I am personally persuaded by the love men share as they sing.

The concept of Joseph expressing his love through a song seemed tenderly realistic and entrancing to me. Early one morning I pondered this. I considered also, the possibility of children or unseen angels being present, awaiting the birth. What would their feelings or thoughts be? Having witnessed the pure and caring love of young children, the thought came to me that they would be concerned for Baby Jesus’ well-being and hoping for him to come safely. On that Sunday morning, the text and the melody both came to be.

One of my favorite coaches, Joycebelle, had also suggested that I expand my book into a Nativity pageant. I had already had a small thought of doing that, but had let it be pushed aside, by one question that kept interfering, “How do you put a pageant into a book?” But after her suggestion the thought took root.

With the helpful feedback and exceptional talent contributions of many people, I spent over a year resolving that. The answer was a story with unique music and a multi-faceted pageant, coordinated into a simple format with options that would work for people in nearly any circumstance and according to their chosen level of participation.

The “book” was now waiting only for its interior formatting and for its “cover candy.” Enter Chaz DeSimone—and the intended magic began to come through. He understood how to convey the practical marketing elements without detracting from the integrity. He shared my vision of an exquisite design.

All of our wonderful brainstorming and improving evolved into fruition but magnified the time crunch for this past year. Toward the very last hour of our efforts we experienced a glitch with a printer. So the release of Holy Stable™ Celebrate the Miracle was necessarily pushed forward to this year.

It was our first determination that these would be available for this past Christmas; but our first priority was to do it well and right. So for the sake of the final quality there was a needed delay. We thank you for your interest and hope you will understand and will keep in touch. It will be amazingly worth waiting for.And for those of you who have been eagerly waiting, please sign up for our mailing list. We will be sharing a lot of excitement and you will be the first ones to receive the special offer to be sent out later this year.

Miracles Happen – Celebrate the Miracle

One day in the Target parking lot I saw a huge van with oxidized old paint, filled with children. It had a special bumper sticker on it that made me laugh, because it helped me put my own situation into better perspective. It read: “Blessings Happen.”

Blessings had “happened” to me and I knew exactly what they were talking about. I wasn’t driving anything much better. I don’t remember now if it was the older Ford Bronco I was driving at the time or the older Suburban. But if I remember correctly, I had upgraded from the very old Orange Wagoneer, with the paint that would flake into my hair, from off of the top of the door, every time I shut it. That made it a regular ritual to get out of the car and shake out my fairly long hair onto the ground, before going in anywhere.

Miracles happen too! And miracles usually happen before we are fully ready. That is what we experienced when shooting the pictures to be included in the YouTube slide show for Celebrate the Miracle.

We had been preparing things during the day. We spread out a large painting tarp, brought in the straw and began playing around with which beard belonged to which wise man, etc.  A relative, whose baby had been selected to be the model for Baby Jesus, was busy caring for the fussy child, while expressing humored doubts about the likelihood of pulling this off.

The baby had been difficult all day. Family “cast members” were deciding who would wear what costumes and I was anticipating that we would spend a half an hour getting everyone dressed and then carefully check them all over and straighten the room before shooting the pics. I was also the photographer and not a very experienced one.

Suddenly the father of the baby said, “If you want to take any pictures you better do it now!” I ignored the comment until it was repeated. Distracting myself from the preparations at hand, I looked over to see the baby in a complete and angelic trance. Everyone recognizing the opportunity, (and also anxious to move on to their other plans,) kicked in to rapidly dress all of the participants and finish setting up.

While all that was happening, I began shooting pictures. I knew things were not perfect. I noticed an enormous pile of day after Thanksgiving Day newspapers down on the floor behind the scene, after I began shooting. There were also some extra costumes sitting off to the side. These did not get moved, because I didn’t dare lose the focus of the group by getting too picky. I already have a reputation for annoying my family with that.

So in a whirlwind we dressed and did the shooting in less than thirty minutes. It was less than fifteen minutes from the time the baby went to sleep. Those of us who witnessed it asserted that we viewed it as miracle. You will have to go to the YouTube link check out the pics of the baby and judge for yourself. After the “miracle” happened the same relative began joking about how much they would collect from me, for the model release of their near perfect child.

The other baby “blessings” that have happened to me, came before I expected and felt completely ready, as well. It has been that way with “blessings” throughout this project too.  Miracles and blessings apparently come when God thinks we need to receive them, not necessarily because we expect them or feel completely prepared. It is often after the task is received, that His acceptation of and faith in us helps us to measure up.

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Holy Stable Introduction

Holy Stable seems like an oxymoron doesn’t it? A stable is not what would likely be considered as conducive for the Holy. Yet, what seems to come symbolically and as an example, from Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus, is the sweet reliance on God, which lends itself to the holy gift of peace.

As God’s gift, peace may be received in any, and maybe even especially, in the lowest of settings. Both Joseph and Mary were honest followers of faith, responding to their inspired connection and contrite convictions of love, for the sake, and through the hope of God’s will; willing in enduring the shame and doubt of the world, as the Son of God, would also do.

If you have read the story well, then you know, that Joseph at first didn’t understand, that Mary’s child was divine of origin. He was trying to figure out how he could put Mary away “privily.” Suspecting that Mary’s child was conceived, by some other man, he no longer planned to marry her. Through his compassion or social concern, he was pondering on how he may end the engagement, privately.

As he thought on these things, an angel visited him in a dream, settling for him, that the child was conceived, of the “Holy Ghost.” Joseph then, “took unto him his wife.”

Soon they traveled to Bethlehem, the city of Joseph’s ancestry, to be “taxed.” The homes of the day were often built with a cavern-like lower level, set into the hillside, to be used for cooking and often used as a shelter for bringing animals in at night. The animals’ were protected, and their body heat helped keep the rest of the dwelling warm.

Though it says in Luke, “There was no room for them in the inn,” the translation for the word inn, likely does not come, from the same meaning that many in modern times, may interpret it to be. It is believed that Joseph and Mary may have had relatives residing in that city and that they may have been traveling to an ancestral home that may have been full with other travelers or relatives. It is quite possible that the lower floor or stable was the best place, for Joseph and Mary to find needed privacy.

Here in lowly circumstance and meekness of heart, Joseph and Mary were preparing with only surreal understanding, to be the trusted earthly nurturers of the chosen Son of God.

In this setting, Heaven’s Gift arrived, the single gift capable, to fill every “lowly” or “unholy” soul or home contrite enough, to receive being filled up.

The lowly blessed with the Holy! Just as Jesus came in holiness to the lowly stable, so will he come to us in our lowly years and moments, to fill us up. That is the miracle and gift of Holy Stable.

Lose the Letdown

Have you ever experienced the letdown? (I usually feel it while hauling the Christmas Paper out to the trash…) of wondering how, after all of the money and time you have spent toward Christmas, you still feel somewhat empty? We all want to find the joy and make things more meaningful, every year we want to…. And, (after personally living with sports enthusiasts, continually imposed commercialism, and the attitude stages of normal teenagers,) I know. It can be a great challenge, getting cooperation in making these special events happen. Yet the things most remembered are often the things that are the hardest to bring about.

There are those rare families that gather together with their sheet music and instruments and plan together, or even at the last minute roll out their annual Christmas program. (I’ve watched a few of those families with a bit of envy.) I tried to get my children to play instruments, but with all but one of eight, my husband’s “music-is-sissy-sports-are-cool” mentality ruled that out.

We too often struggle with our last bit of time, energy and money, to buy the expected Christmas gifts, hoping to avoid any disappointment. Often we compromise giving the most needed gift: time to Celebrate the Miracle of Our Savior’s love.

There is nothing more important. But too many times, it is the thing we end up leaving out. Maybe you have tried and failed to pull together the kind of experience you desire. Is there room for a little more Christ in your Christmas? There certainly was in ours, and that is what inspired and brought Holy Stable about.